Starting a conversation in German
Posted on 05. Jun, 2012 by Sandra in Language
The best way to learn German, or any other language, is using it in communicative situations, i.e. face-to-face situations. So, do not wait to speak German until you have learned some more grammar, but use every opportunity to speak German to test you newly acquired language skills.
Formal Greetings and Salutations
|
German |
Pronunciation |
English |
| Guten Tag. | gew-tuhn tahk | Hello. |
| Ich heiße … | iH hay-suh | My name is … |
| Wie heißen Sie? | vee hay-suhn zee | What is your name? |
| Danke, sehr gut. | dAn-kuh, zeyR gewt | Thank you, very well. |
| Danke, nicht schlecht. | dAn-kuh, niHt shleHt | Thank you, not bad. |
| Danke, es geht so. | dAn-kuh, es gewt zo | Thank you, so so. |
| Mir geht’s gut. | meeR gayts gewt | I’m fine. |
Cultural differences
Americans often ask “How are you?”, which is rather an extension of a greeting. But when you ask a German “Wie geht es Ihnen?” (formal) or “Wie geht es dir?” (informal) they would rather take that question literally and probably tell you the story of their life. Fortunately, most Germans can ‘deal’ with that question and often respond with a simple “Mir geht’s gut”.
Informal Greetings and Salutations
|
German |
Pronunciation |
English |
| Hallo! | hA-lo | Hi! |
| Ich heiße … | iH hay-suh | My name is … |
| Wie heißt du? | vee hayst dew | What is your name? |
| Wie geht’s? | vee gayts | How are you? |
| Wie geht’s dir? | vee gayts deeR | How is it going with you? |
| Was machst du so? | vAs maHst dew zo | What’s up? |
| Ganz gut. | gAns gewt | Okay. |
| Ich kann nicht klagen. | iH kAn niHt kla-guhn | I can’t complain. |
German “Guten Tag” and English “Hello”
In American or British English, there is no equivalent for German “Guten Tag” (lit. good day). In English, you would rather opt for the expression “Hello”. But German “Hallo” is rather informal, thus, it is not a good idea to greet someone with “Hallo” in a rather official situation. In informal situations you can also use “Hi” to greet someone.
About Sandra
Hello everybody! I studied English and American Studies, Communication Science, and Political Science at the University of Greifswald. Presently, I am writing my final thesis in Modern English Linguistics (second language acquisition). Since I have been learning English as a second language myself for about 18 years now I know how difficult it is to learn a language other than your native one. Thus, I am always willing to keep my explanations about German grammar comprehensible and short. Further, I am inclined to encourage you to speak German in every situation. Regards, Sandra